Liquid metal switches have been devised that use the heating of gases to create pressure changes that actuate the switches by creating gaps in liquid metal drops trapped in channels (to unblock optical paths) and moving the drops to wet between contacts (to block optical paths). A current method used to manufacture the channel structures has resolution and accuracy limits because it uses sandblasting to form the channels. In addition, the way the heater resistors are currently formed on the ceramic substrate causes energy inefficiencies from heat loss into the ceramic substrate.